Katy Grant, a bestselling children's fiction author, was born and raised in a small town in Tennessee. From a young age, she found herself to be different from her siblings and peers. Being the youngest of three, she often found herself the target of her older brother's pranks. Her older sister, who was twelve years her senior, was afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis and was unable to protect Katy from their brother. Despite this, her sister always made her feel special and loved.
Grant's home life took a turn for the worse when she lost her mother at the age of ten. Her father remarried, and Grant's relationship with her stepmother was strained, to say the least. The two had vastly different personalities and interests, and Grant's tomboyish nature clashed with her stepmother's desire for a more traditionally feminine daughter. This tension caused Grant to seek solace in books, which allowed her to escape from her unhappy reality. The time she spent at summer camp during the holidays also provided inspiration for her novels.
In addition to her difficult upbringing, Grant also knew from a young age that she wanted to be a writer. She was inspired by a biography of Louisa May Alcott and spent countless hours reading and writing. She received her MA in liberal arts from the University of Oklahoma and her BA in literature from Arizona State University. Despite not feeling prepared for the real world, she managed to write her first novel while raising a toddler. She currently lives in Arizona with her husband and enjoys spending time with her two adult sons.